Writing Journal

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Active voice vs. Passive Voice - Monday, Sept. 21st, 2009
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  • Active Voice- the subject of the sentence performs the verb (action verb).
    • ex: The boy kicked the ball.
    • The boy is the subject, and he is kicking.
    • ACTIVE IS STRONGER
  • Passive Voice- the subject of the sentence receives the action (verb).
    • ex: The ball was kicked by the boy.
    • The subject, ball, is receiving the action
    • PASSIVE IS BAD

Reflection: Persuasive Essay & General Writing- Thursday, Sept. 24th, 2009
-List your writing strength and weaknesses, what do you need to work on?
  • I have trouble spelling
  • I get distracted easily
  • I procrastinate
  • I have good ideas

WRITING TIPS: Monday, Sept. 28th
  • Do not use second person pronouns (you, your, yours)
  • Do not use BE VERBS (linking verbs) all the time. Instead use ACTION VERBS.
  • Do not write in passive voice; write in active voice!
  • Proofread! Read your papers aloud to hear the mistakes.
  • Never announce what you think by saying "I think, I believe, in my opinion," etc. JUST SAY IT!
  • Use transition words at the beginnings of paragraphs.
  • Use transition

POSSESSION (Ownership) - Monday, Sept. 28th
  • To make a singular word possessive, add an 's
    • Billy's friend went to the store.
    • The child's dog ate Harry's lunch.
    • The girl's lunch box is green.
  • To make a plural word possessive, put the apostrophe at the end of the word ending in "s"
    • The girls' lunch boxes are green.
    • The community churches' communion boxes were full.
  • EXCEPTIONS
    • What if a plural word does not end in "s"?
      • Examples: women men children geese
      • Add an 's to the end of the word to make it possessive

Transitions - Tuesday, Sept. 29th
  • Transitions glue our ideas and our essays together.
  • The types of transitions available to you are as diverse as the circumstances in which you need to use them. A transition can be a single word, a phrase, a sentence, or an entire paragraph. In each case, it functions the same way: first, the transition either directly summarizes the content of a preceding sentence, paragraph, or section, or it implies that summary. Then it helps the reader anticipate or comprehend the new information that you wish to present.